Catheters are tubes used in the medical field to be inserted into a patient allowing for the drainage of, or administration of fluids and medicines. Specifically, dual-lumen hemodialysis catheters are a class of catheter, which can be used to exchange blood to and from a hemodialysis machine and a patient suffering from renal failure. These catheters are typically placed in a large vein of a patient, usually the jugular vein, and advanced down toward the chest in a retrograde insertion or tunneled through the subcutaneous tissue of the upper chest and into a large vein in an antegrade insertion. Current hemodialysis catheters can be split at their distal ends, and these catheters are referred to as ‘split-tip catheters.’ The free-floating ends of such catheters can provide better flow rates and prevent clogging of the catheter. Existing hemodialysis catheters are secured to the patient through a fixed hub and suture wing assembly, intended to reduce the risk of accidental dislodgement from the patient. In order to install these catheter correctly, they must be manufactured in various lengths to adequately fit the dimensions of patients of various shapes and sizes, which requires hospitals and clinics to stock various lengths of hemodialysis catheters. Keeping such an inventory can be both costly and difficult to maintain.
What is needed is an adjustable-length hemodialysis catheter, which can be adapted to fit nearly any patient, regardless of that patient's size or shape, thus eliminating the need for hospitals or other healthcare facilities to stock multiple lengths of hemodialysis catheters.